Zanzibar Arrests 15 Acid Attack Suspects

Police in Zanzibar say they have arrested 15 people in connection with a series of acid attacks on the island during the past year.

Zanzibar Police Commissioner Mussa Ali Mussa said police had seized 29 liters (about 7.7 gallons) of acid from the suspects, which were displayed at a news conference earlier this week.

Mussa claimed some of the suspects were connected with the Somali jihadist group al-Shabab, the BBC reported. He said the suspected al-Shabab members were caught "while preparing to take part in wars outside Tanzania” but provided no details.

The most recent attack took place Friday, when Father Joseph Anselmo Mwangamba, an elderly Catholic priest, was attacked with acid in Zanzibar’s capital Stone Town as he was leaving an Internet café. It was the fifth attack on the island since November in which assailants used acid.

Friday’s assault follows one last month on two 18-year-old British women, who had acid thrown onto them from attackers on a motorbike, according to the BBC.

Police have not said whether the 15 recent arrests relate to the attack on the British teenagers or are connected solely with that on Mwangamba.